604 • Note on the Limboos, and other Hill Tribes. [No. 102. 



the Dev-Nagri, or Lepcha character, according to the comparative faci- 

 lity of procuring an engraver in either of these characters. It is an 

 act of virtue in the relatives to give largess ; but it does not appear to 

 be considered of any efficacy to the soul of the departed. The Limboos 

 do not make offerings, or sacrifices for the dead, nor have they any 

 belief in the transmigration of souls. They mourn the dead by weeping 

 and lamentations at the time, and by avoiding merry makings, and 

 adorning the hair with flowers for a month or two. 



Houses. 



Their houses are built of stone raised over platforms of the same, 

 from two to four feet from the ground ; they rarely consist of more than 

 one apartment, and are roofed with grass thatch. In all respects 

 of neatness and comfort, their dwellings are far surpassed by the roomy 

 and picturesque houses of the Lepchas. Like the latter however, they 

 avoid hill tops for their residences, and either locate themselves in 

 vallies at great elevations, or along the hill sides, at elevations of 

 2, 3, or 4000 feet above the sea. The Limboo language has no 

 written character, nor has it, so far as I can judge from attending 

 to its pronunciation, any similitude to those of the Lepchas, Bhotiahs, 

 Mechis, and Haioos, and it is altogether free from any connection with 

 the Parbuttiah, which is a dialect of Hindi origin. It is more pleasing 

 to the ear than the Lepcha tongue, being labial and palatal, rather 

 than nasal and guttural. 



The comparison of the various languages spoken in this neighbour- 

 hood one with the other, and all with the Thibetan and Sanscrit, 

 as well as with the numerous dialects of the countries bordering 

 on Assam, and with the language of the Dhangurs, Coles, Goonds, 

 and Bheels, offers a tempting subject to philologists, and will 

 probably reward the labourers, by enabling them to throw some 

 additional light on the small knowledge now possessed of the races 

 who peopled India previous to the advent or rise of the Hindu 

 religion. 



The following are the dialects of these respective people to which 

 attention may without much difficulty be directed at Darjeeling — 



The Lepcha, Limboo, Bhotiah, Haioo, Moormi, Mech, Dimal, 

 Garrow, Tharoo, Dhunwar, and others which I am unable to particu- 



